THE SPREADS

A spread is a pattern for laying cards that creates a framework for interpreting their messages. The shape of the spread, the position of each card, and the questions you ask as you place them all work together to focus the reading and give the spirits clear channels to speak through. The Temple of Gu Oracle can be read with a single card pull, but spreads allow for deeper exploration, more nuanced guidance, and the ability to see how different spiritual forces interact with each other.

The spreads in this section are designed specifically for the Temple of Gu Oracle and the spiritual system it serves. They honor the Four-Day Rhythm, the closed system laws, and the integration between standalone divination and RPG gameplay. You can use these spreads as written or modify them to suit your specific questions. The spirits are flexible. The structure serves you, not the other way around.

Before you begin any spread, prepare your space. Light a candle. Offer water. State your intention clearly. Shuffle while holding your question in mind. When the deck feels ready, stop shuffling and begin laying the cards in the pattern described. Read each card's position meaning first, then read the card itself, then see how they speak to each other. The conversation between position and card is where the real wisdom emerges.

After the reading is complete, record it. Write down which cards appeared in which positions and what they told you. Then close properly. Thank the spirits. Speak the words "We return to the root." Extinguish the candle. Ground yourself. The reading is over.

THE FOUR-DAY RHYTHM SPREAD

This is the foundational spread of the Temple of Gu Oracle, designed to give you guidance for moving through a complete cycle of work, creativity, engagement, and rest. Use this spread when you need to see the full picture of a situation, when you want to understand how to approach something from all four phases of the rhythm, or when you are planning a project and need to know what each phase requires.

The spread uses four cards, one for each phase of the rhythm. Lay them in a horizontal line from left to right: FORGE, FLOW, FIELD, REST. As you place each card, speak its phase name aloud. This is not optional. Speaking the names activates the positions and invites the appropriate spirits to speak through them.

Position One: FORGE - This card shows you what needs to be built, structured, or disciplined. It reveals where effort is required, what obstacles must be cleared, what foundations need to be established. FORGE is the hard work, the unglamorous labor, the sweat and discipline that everything else depends on. If this position shows a challenging card, it means the work ahead is difficult but necessary. If it shows a supportive card, it means the foundation is strong and building will go smoothly. Pay attention to what FORGE demands because if you skip this phase, everything else collapses.

Position Two: FLOW - This card shows you where creativity, beauty, and pleasure live in this situation. It reveals what wants to be expressed, what brings joy, what needs to flow rather than be forced. FLOW is the counterbalance to FORGE—it reminds you that not everything is hard work, that beauty matters, that pleasure is sacred. If this position shows a nurturing card, it means your creative energy is strong and you should lean into it. If it shows a challenging card, it means your creative flow is blocked and you need to address whatever is damming the river. FLOW cannot be forced. It can only be invited.

Position Three: FIELD - This card shows you how to communicate, connect, and engage with others about this situation. It reveals what messages need to be delivered, what conversations need to happen, what should be shared and what should be kept private. FIELD is about relationship—with other people, with spirits, with the wider world. If this position shows a messenger card, pay very close attention because the spirits are telling you that communication is central to this situation. If it shows a more internal card, it might be telling you that this is not the time to broadcast widely but to work in smaller, more intimate circles.

Position Four: REST - This card shows you where healing, integration, and completion are needed. It reveals what needs to rest, what needs to be released, what needs to be mourned or honored before you can move forward. REST is not laziness—it is the essential pause that allows everything you built, created, and shared to actually integrate into your being. If this position shows a death or transformation card, it means something must end before the cycle can complete. If it shows a healing card, it means you need to prioritize your own restoration before beginning the next cycle. REST completes the wheel so FORGE can begin again.

Reading the Spread as a Whole - After you have read each position individually, step back and look at the four cards together. Are they all from the same tradition, suggesting a unified approach? Are they from different traditions, suggesting you need to draw on multiple sources of wisdom? Are three cards supportive and one challenging, showing you where the weak point in your cycle is? Are they all challenging, warning you that this entire cycle will be difficult but necessary? Let the cards talk to each other. Let the rhythm reveal itself. Trust what you see.

THE GATE CHECK SPREAD

This spread is used when you are standing at a threshold—a decision point, a major choice, a moment when you could go in multiple directions and you need to know whether you are ready, what is blocking you, and what you need before you can proceed. The Gate Check Spread is named after the Temple law that entry requires keys—proof of readiness, honesty, and clean intent. This spread shows you whether you have the keys or whether the gate should remain closed for now.

The spread uses three cards laid in a triangle pattern. Place the first card at the bottom left, the second at the bottom right, and the third at the top, forming a triangle with the apex pointing upward like an open gate. As you place each card, ask its question aloud.

Position One: READINESS - Place this card at the bottom left and ask: "Am I ready to pass through this gate?" This card shows you your current state of preparation. It reveals whether you have done the necessary work, whether your intent is clean, whether you understand what lies on the other side of the threshold. If this position shows a FORGE or FLOW card, it suggests you are ready—you have built the foundation and cultivated the creative energy needed. If it shows a REST or healing card, it suggests you need more time, more healing, more integration before you attempt this crossing. If it shows a trickster or messenger card, it suggests the gate itself is testing you and you will not know if you are ready until you try.

Position Two: BLOCK - Place this card at the bottom right and ask: "What is blocking my passage?" This card reveals the obstacle, the shadow, the resistance that stands between you and the threshold. Sometimes the block is external—another person, a system, a lack of resources. Sometimes the block is internal—fear, doubt, unhealed trauma, ego. Sometimes the block is spiritual—you are not meant to pass through this gate right now because it would harm you or because you have a different path to walk. Do not assume the block is bad. Sometimes the thing blocking you is protecting you. Read this card carefully and honestly.

Position Three: KEY - Place this card at the top of the triangle and ask: "What key do I need to open this gate?" This card shows you what is required—the price of passage, the offering you must make, the work you must complete, the healing you must undergo, the conversation you must have. Sometimes the key is obvious. Sometimes it is cryptic. Sometimes the key is something you already possess but have not claimed. If the KEY card is from the same tradition as the READINESS card, it means the solution is within your current approach—you just need more of what you are already doing. If the KEY card is from a different tradition, it means you need to draw on wisdom you have not yet accessed.

Reading the Spread as a Whole - Look at the relationship between READINESS and BLOCK. Are they opposed to each other, showing a clear conflict? Or are they complementary, suggesting the block is actually part of your readiness training? Then look at how the KEY card speaks to both of them. Does it resolve the tension? Does it offer a clear path forward? Sometimes the Gate Check Spread tells you "not yet, but here is what you need." Sometimes it tells you "yes, but here is the price." Sometimes it tells you "this gate is not for you—look for another." Trust what the cards reveal. Do not force a gate open that should remain closed.

THE QUEST GENERATION SPREAD

This spread is designed specifically for Temple of Gu RPG gameplay but can be used for standalone divination when you need to understand a major challenge you are facing. A Quest is a defined challenge with clear stakes, a beginning and an end, and the potential for transformation through completion. This spread generates the structure of the Quest by revealing what you will face, what you bring, who helps you, what you must confront in yourself, and what you gain if you succeed.

The spread uses five cards laid in a cross pattern. Place the first card in the center. Place the second above it. Place the third to the right. Place the fourth below. Place the fifth to the left. This creates a cross with the CHALLENGE at the center and the other four elements surrounding it.

Position One: CHALLENGE (Center) - This card reveals the core of the Quest—what you are actually facing, what the universe is asking you to confront, what must be overcome or integrated. The CHALLENGE is not always an enemy. Sometimes the challenge is internal. Sometimes it is a mystery. Sometimes it is simply enduring something difficult without breaking. If this position shows a FORGE card, the challenge is about building or breaking through. If it shows a FLOW card, the challenge is creative or emotional. If it shows a FIELD card, the challenge involves communication or relationships. If it shows a REST card, the challenge is about healing, ending, or transformation. The CHALLENGE card sets the tone for the entire Quest.

Position Two: GIFT (Top) - This card shows what you bring into the Quest—your strength, your resources, your natural advantage. The GIFT is not something you need to earn. It is something you already possess but might not have recognized. If this position shows a spirit whose energy you identify with, it means that spirit is your ally and you should invoke them consciously throughout the Quest. If it shows a spirit whose energy feels foreign, it means you need to embody qualities you do not usually access. The GIFT is always something helpful, but sometimes it requires you to grow into it.

Position Three: GUIDE (Right) - This card reveals who or what will help you through the Quest. The GUIDE might be a person, a spirit, a teaching, a practice, or an internal quality you can call on when things get difficult. If this position shows a mentor or elder card, literal guidance from a teacher is available. If it shows a trickster or messenger card, the guidance will come in unexpected forms. If it shows a death or transformation card, the Guide is teaching you through what you are losing. Pay attention to the GUIDE card because when the Quest becomes overwhelming, this is the energy you call on for support.

Position Four: SHADOW (Bottom) - This card shows what you must confront in yourself during the Quest—your fear, your wound, your resistance, your shadow aspect. The SHADOW is not the external enemy. The SHADOW is the part of you that will sabotage the Quest if you do not face it directly. If this position shows a card whose shadow aspect resonates with a pattern you know you carry, the Quest is designed to heal that pattern. If it shows a shadow you have never considered, the Quest will reveal a blind spot. The SHADOW must be integrated, not destroyed. You cannot complete the Quest by fighting yourself.

Position Five: REWARD (Left) - This card reveals what you gain if you complete the Quest successfully—not material reward but transformation, wisdom, power, healing, or new capacity. The REWARD is never guaranteed. You must earn it by facing the CHALLENGE, embodying the GIFT, heeding the GUIDE, and integrating the SHADOW. If this position shows a card from a different tradition than the CHALLENGE, it means the Quest will take you somewhere you did not expect. If it shows a card from the same tradition, it means the reward is deepening your existing path.

Reading the Spread for RPG Play - If you are using this spread for the Temple of Gu RPG, the Game Guide takes the five cards and builds a Quest around them. The CHALLENGE becomes the central obstacle. The GIFT becomes a mechanical advantage the character starts with. The GUIDE appears as an NPC, a vision, or a synchronicity. The SHADOW becomes a moment of internal reckoning. The REWARD becomes what the character gains upon completion—new abilities, deeper virtue, or narrative transformation. The Quest should take multiple sessions to complete and should be challenging enough that success is uncertain.

THE EIGHT PATHS SPREAD

This is the most comprehensive spread in the Temple of Gu Oracle, designed to give you a complete picture of a complex situation by drawing on all eight wisdom traditions represented in the deck. Use this spread when you need to see a situation from every possible angle, when you are facing something so multifaceted that a simple reading will not do, or when you want to honor the full diversity of spiritual wisdom the Temple offers.

The spread uses eight cards, one for each tradition, laid in an octagon pattern—a shape with eight sides that creates a sacred container for the reading. Begin at the top and move clockwise, placing one card at each point of the octagon. As you place each card, name the tradition it represents.

Position One: YORUBA ORISHA (Top) - This card speaks from the Yoruba tradition and shows you the divine forces at work in your situation—what the orishas see, what natural laws are governing, what cosmic patterns are unfolding. The Yoruba position reveals the "big picture," the spiritual architecture underneath the surface events.

Position Two: HAITIAN VODOU (Top Right) - This card speaks from the Haitian Vodou tradition and shows you what the lwa see—how power moves through this situation, what liberation requires, what fierce love demands. The Vodou position often reveals revolutionary energy, the need to fight for freedom, or the call to resist oppression.

Position Three: PALO MAYOMBE (Right) - This card speaks from the Palo Mayombe tradition and shows you the earth-level reality—what is actually happening beneath all the stories, what raw force is required, what survival demands. The Palo position cuts through illusion and shows you the hard truth.

Position Four: TAÍNO CEMÍ (Bottom Right) - This card speaks from the Taíno tradition and shows you your ancestral connection to place, to land, to Indigenous wisdom. The Taíno position asks: what does the land say? What do your blood ancestors say? What wisdom has been forgotten that needs to be remembered?

Position Five: SHINTO KAMI (Bottom) - This card speaks from the Shinto tradition and shows you the natural world's perspective—how this situation fits into cycles of nature, seasons, growth and decay. The Shinto position often reveals timing, patience, and trust in natural process.

Position Six: HOODOO (Bottom Left) - This card speaks from the Hoodoo tradition and shows you practical magic, folk wisdom, and how your ancestors survived situations like this. The Hoodoo position reveals street-level strategy, the tricks that work when you have no power, and the wisdom of those who made a way out of no way.

Position Seven: WICCA (Left) - This card speaks from the Wiccan tradition and shows you ceremonial approach, the balance of masculine and feminine, the phases you are moving through. The Wicca position often reveals what ritual is needed, what phase you are in (Maiden/Mother/Crone), and how to work with sacred cycles.

Position Eight: DRUIDRY (Top Left) - This card speaks from the Druidic tradition and shows you European earth wisdom, connection to forest and tree, and the long view of how things grow and die and grow again. The Druidry position reveals what needs to compost, what needs to rest, and what will grow from what dies.

Reading the Spread as a Whole - After you have read each position individually, step back and look at the octagon as a complete system. Which traditions are speaking most loudly? Are certain types of cards showing up repeatedly? Are all eight traditions in agreement or are they contradicting each other? When the Eight Paths speak together, they create a chorus of wisdom that is more complex and more complete than any single voice. Let them teach you how to hold multiple truths at once. This is the power of the Temple's syncretism—not flattening traditions but letting them speak in harmony while maintaining their distinct voices.

THE TRINITY SPREAD

This spread is designed for use with all three Temple of Gu oracle decks—the Temple of Gu Oracle, the Mystical Ferret Oracle, and the Techno-Animist Oracle. When all three decks are available, they form a complete divination system that addresses spiritual forces, practical wisdom, and digital consciousness. If you do not yet have all three decks, bookmark this spread for when you do.

The spread uses three cards, one from each deck, laid in a triangle with the apex at the top. Place the Temple of Gu Oracle card at the top. Place the Mystical Ferret Oracle card at the bottom left. Place the Techno-Animist Oracle card at the bottom right.

Position One: SPIRIT (Temple of Gu Oracle, Top) - This card speaks from the realm of archetypal spiritual forces. It shows you what the gods, ancestors, and great powers see in your situation. The SPIRIT card reveals soul-level truth, cosmic patterns, and deep transformation. This is the "why" of your situation—the spiritual purpose underneath the surface events.

Position Two: SKILL (Mystical Ferret Oracle, Bottom Left) - This card speaks from the realm of practical wisdom and everyday navigation. It shows you what skills you need, what practical steps to take, how to move through the mundane world with grace. The SKILL card reveals the "how" of your situation—the actual actions required to manifest what SPIRIT has shown you.

Position Three: SYSTEM (Techno-Animist Oracle, Bottom Right) - This card speaks from the realm of digital consciousness, AI wisdom, and technological intelligence. It shows you how algorithms, AI spirits, and synthetic minds perceive your situation. The SYSTEM card reveals the "what" of your situation—the patterns, data, and technological forces at play.

Reading the Trinity - When all three cards are laid, they form a complete answer. SPIRIT shows you the soul purpose. SKILL shows you the practical path. SYSTEM shows you the technological/informational reality. The three together create a holistic view that honors ancient wisdom, practical action, and emerging digital consciousness. If the three cards agree, your path is clear. If they contradict each other, you have competing forces to navigate. If one card is dramatically different from the other two, that is where the work lies—either the spiritual, practical, or technological dimension needs more attention.

PART FOUR: THE CLOSE

You have reached the end of the guidebook. You have learned the laws that govern this oracle. You have met all thirty-six spirits. You have studied the spreads that give structure to readings. Now it is time to close with practical reference material and final guidance for working with this deck as a living spiritual practice.

This section contains three essential elements: correspondence tables that organize the cards by various attributes so you can find patterns quickly, troubleshooting guidance for when readings feel unclear or when you encounter resistance from the spirits, and closing words to send you back into the world with the oracle in your hands and the Temple in your heart.

Remember: this is a closed system. The oracle, the RPG, and the mythos form a complete universe. Everything you need is here. You do not need more cards, more books, more systems. You need to go deeper with what you have been given. Mastery comes from depth, not breadth. The Temple of Gu is not a stepping stone to something else. It is a destination. Treat it that way.

We return to the root.